For the mobility-impaired, highly trained canines called 'service dogs' can pick up dropped keys, open and close drawers, retrieve prepared meals, help a person in and out of a bathtub, dial 911 (really!), push and pull wheelchairs, help operate a car or van, and pull off gloves, shoes, socks and jackets. Other dogs provide specific assistance to those who suffer seizures (sudden attacks of illness) and require special medication. And, of course, the helping dogs provide companionship, play and give unconditional love to the people they assist. It is thirty odd years now since the placement... Show more

For the mobility-impaired, highly trained canines called 'service dogs' can pick up dropped keys, open and close drawers, retrieve prepared meals, help a person in and out of a bathtub, dial 911 (really!), push and pull wheelchairs, help operate a car or van, and pull off gloves, shoes, socks and jackets. Other dogs provide specific assistance to those who suffer seizures (sudden attacks of illness) and require special medication. And, of course, the helping dogs provide companionship, play and give unconditional love to the people they assist.
It is thirty odd years now since the placement of the first assistance-dog. But only in recent years, with the rising independence movement among disabled people, has the idea begun to spread widely.
While most service dogs are trained to work with people who rely on wheelchairs, other categories of helping dogs include hearing dogs (they alert their owners to sounds-doorbells, phones, cooking timers, alarm clocks, smoke alarms) and seizure dogs (they carry medications in their packs and are trained to dial 911 on large-keyed phones). (177 words)

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